Boom System of Truck Mounted Concrete Pump

The boom system is a crucial part in concrete pumping system. The length of the boom has a direct influence on the operation scope of a truck mounted concrete pump. The longer is the boom, the larger the operation scope is and the wider the pump’s application scope is. However, the longer the boom is, the longer the driving size of the vehicle is. This undoubtedly reduces flexibility of the truck, the biggest advantage of which is smooth operation in narrow small construction sites like urban mountain areas.

Generally speaking, with an increasing demand for commercial concrete, development of the concrete pump truck is featured by a higher flexibility and a longer distribution boom. Its boom length goes gradually from a mainstream 37m in the past to more than 42m at present. The longest pump boom in China reaches as much as 56m. Putzmeister Company, which produces the largest pump trucks in the world, provides pumps with a vertical boom height of 62m. Such a truck mounted concrete pump has 5 sections and a maximum concrete delivery capacity of 200 cubic meters per hour. In order to meet the needs of deploying the boom in narrow or complicatedly-structured sites, some foreign manufacturers launched pumps of higher flexibility by adopting multi-segment boom technology and unilateral support technology. The number of boom joints is 3, 4 and 5. The folding modes are Z-shaped, R-shaped and RZ-shaped. Because the opening space of Z-shaped folding boom is lower, it is more suitable for work in narrow construction sites. Considering the convenience in manufacturing and using, the most frequently adopted mode of the boom is a mixed folding mode including both R and Z.

The boom system of a concrete pump truck is such a complicated and redundant device that it’s easy for human operators to make errors in having the boom end reach the exact pouring location. To solve this critical problem, an intelligent boom control system has been developed. Operators set a targeted boom location in the controlling computer which instructs coordinated action of multiple boom joints that continuously distribute concrete according to the set program or send the concrete to predetermined position directly.